LinkedIn Announces That Some Passwords Were Compromised

Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) officially confirmed on its blog “some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts.” The social media site continues to investigate the situation and here is what the company is pursuing as far as next steps for the compromised accounts:

Members that have accounts associated with the compromised passwords will notice that their LinkedIn account password is no longer valid.

These members will also receive an email from LinkedIn with instructions on how to reset their passwords. There will not be any links in these emails. For security reasons, you should never change your password on any website by following a link in an email.

These affected members will receive a second email from our Customer Support team providing a bit more context on this situation and why they are being asked to change their passwords.

It is worth noting that the affected members who updated their passwords and members whose passwords have not been compromised benefit from the enhanced security the company just recently put in place, which includes hashing and salting of LinkedIn’s current password databases.

This morning it was reported that the passwords of over 6.5 million LinkedIn users have been compromised. The passwords showed up on a Russian hacker’s site. Personal details were not revealed in the leak, but security experts have warned that hackers will be able to access the accounts of those whose passwords have been compromised.

User data is at risk for the 6.5 million people affected. LinkedIn users are advised to change their passwords and monitor their accounts for any unusual activity.